Fall Festivities

      With Halloween behind us and my Samhain celebrations five days away, I thought I'd share some fall recipes that I really love.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 8 to 10 servings

Change Servings

• 
  1 medium sugar pumpkin 
• 
  1 1/2 pounds lean ground Turkey
• 
  1 onion, chopped 
• 
  1 clove garlic, minced 
• 
  1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar 
• 
  1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
• 
  1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 
  4 cups tomato juice 
• 
  3 cups shredded cabbage 
• 
  1/2 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed 
• 
  1 cup uncooked white rice 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Wash pumpkin, cut off top, scrape out seeds and save to roast and eat later.
3. Place turkey in a large, deep skillet. Crumble and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain fat, add onion and garlic; saute slightly.
4. Add sugar, Italian herbs, salt, pepper, tomato juice and rice; mix thoroughly.
5. Layer inside of pumpkin with 1/3 of cabbage, green beans and beef and rice mixture. Repeat layers, replace lid and bake for 2 to 3 hours until bubbling through.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes, Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, Candied Pecans

Total Time:

1 hr 50 min

Prep

25 min

Cook

1 hr 25 min

Yield:

18 cupcakes

Level:

Easy

Ingredients

• One 16-ounce can sweet potatoes
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
• Candied Pecans, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 18 paper liners, set aside.

Make the sweet potato puree by processing the sweet potatoes in a food processor. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and eggs. Add the dry ingredients. Whisk in the sweet potato puree. Fill each cupcake in the prepared pan three-quarters full of batter.

Bake until the tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.

To assemble: Frost the cupcakes with the Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting. Sprinkle with the Candied Pecans.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:

• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the butter and beat until well incorporated. Add the light brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Candied Pecans:

• Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat the egg white in a bowl until frothy; whisk 4 teaspoons water and the vanilla extract into the egg. Stir the sugar, cinnamon and salt into the egg mixture. Add the chopped pecans, stir to coat completely. Spread the pecans onto the baking sheet. Bake the pecans, stirring about every 20 minutes, until the coating forms a glaze, about 1 hour. Allow to cool on the baking sheet.